Popular television and film actor Ram Kapoor says people in the industry offer him only meaty roles as they know that he would rather sit at home than work in a project for the sake of it.
The actor, known for his roles in titles across mediums such as "Kasamh Se”, “Bade Achhe Lagte Hain”, “Udaan”, Mere Dad Ki Maruti", “Jubilee”, to his latest web show “Khalbali Records”, considers himself to be lucky to get offers that matter.
"People are now giving me enough respect that they only offer me something meaty. Everybody who knows me knows that ‘Ram is happy sitting at home for six months, but when he works, he will always do something meaningful. Otherwise, he'd rather travel or do something else than just work to make money',” Kapoor told PTI in an interview.
"I don't have to worry about the characters anymore, I look at how good the project is, how good the director or my co-actors are,” he added.
When asked about the secret behind his long career across all three mediums - TV, films and OTT, Kapoor attributed it to a combination of talent and luck.
The 51-year-old actor also said his training of four years in method acting in the US gave him a strong foundation.
"No actor can make it without luck, and I've been lucky. But you also need to be good at your craft... You have to have a combination of both. I've always had my training to fall back on for every role and I know that I'll be nothing without my training,” he added.
Kapoor also stressed that being respectful and professional are essential qualities for longevity in the industry.
"If I continue choosing the right projects and being respectful and professional, then I might get lucky enough to work for another 10 to 15 years before I choose to retire.”
The actor, whose latest work is the Jio Cinema series “Khalbali Records”, recalled the challenges he faced while transitioning from television to OTT and films.
He said it took three years to break away from the stereotypes associated with his television background.
"It took two to three years for the industry to open up and start offering me the kind of diverse work in OTT and films the way I'm getting,” Kapoor said, adding he doesn't have plans to go back to acting in television shows.
In “Khalbali Records”, he portrays the role of a music industry mogul, Manvender Rai Singh.
"I've not done anything in the music industry before so it was new to me. The father and son dynamic also appealed to me. I'm a son of a very rich and powerful father and I had to go through a lot to earn his respect, so it was very relatable. I'm a father to teenagers so it was relatable in that sense also as to what my father was going through when he was opposing me.”
In addition to this show, Kapoor will be seen alongside Akshay Kumar and Arshad Warsi-starrer “Jolly LLB 3”, an untitled film with Ayushmann Khurrana, and two shows for Disney+ Hotstar.
